Seasonal patterns of sex steroids determined from feces in different social categories of greylag geese (Anser anser)

Seasonal patterns of fecal 17 beta-OH-androgen, estrogen, and progesterone equivalents of male and female greylag geese (Anser anser) were analyzed in a flock of free-living geese. These were compared among social categories determined by pairbond status and breeding success. The annual cycle was divided into 13 phases. Phasewise intra-sexual comparisons were made between social categories. The seasonal variation obtained from feces was in general agreement with the literature on plasma patterns in geese and other temperate-zone birds. However, there were distinct differences in seasonal hormone patterns among the social categories. In unpaired males, androgen was elevated for a longer period of time during sexually active phases compared with paired males. In male geese, high levels of androgen did not interfere with parenting but were related to pairbond status, whereas in females, androgen and progesterone were positively related to parental behavior. In the Fall, androgen, progesterone, and estrogen peaked only in unpaired males. In unsuccessful females, estrogen started to increase earlier in the Winter and was higher in amplitude and duration than that in females guarding offspring. In general, fecal steroids showed a clear-cut difference only between sexually active and parental phases of the year in the successfully breeding pairs, whereas unpaired males retained a hormonal state closer to sexually active phases throughout the year. (C) 1999 Academic Press.